Zion

Utah

September 14- September 16, 2006

After Las Vegas we were free to roam and that's just what we did. Next Stop YEWTAH!!!! We continued on Route 15 crossing briefly through Arizona and just under three hours we found ourselves in Utah's famous Zion National Park. However, we arrived a tad too late to enter Zion so we found the closest town to catch 40 winks. The only negative about this area was the lack of Roadfood recommendations so we had to settle for one of the way too many fast food chains that dot our highways. We selected the TravelLodge because it provided a "Continental" Breakfast, but when Tom saw the meager offerings, he questioned what Continent the hotel owners could possibly be from...

Zion (ancient Hebrew word meaning a place of refuge or sanctuary) Canyon consists of amazing formations of reddish and tan-colored Navajo Sandstone which towered 2,000 to 3,000 feet above our car. The landscape of unmatched beauty and diversity encompasses some 150,000 acres. The sites are endless, however the highlights include a spectacular gorge, the The Narrows, with walls 100 feet wide and 1000 tall, the multicolored Kolob Canyons, which includes the world's largest arch - Kolob Arch - with a span that measures 310 feet, and the Checkerboard Mesa.

We waited in line to pass through the Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel (when it was built in the early 1930s, it was the longest of its type in the world). Note the picture of our tiny BMW compared to the SUV...we really miss the Blazer). The difference about waiting in line to go through a tunnel in Zion versus, say, a tunnel in any city in the USA, is that all the drivers get out for a stretch and enjoy profound conversations about their travels sharing their thoughts on the best routes, tips, and sites to take in.

Zion was discovered by Mormons in 1858 (remember this is UTAH), but was established as a National Park in 1909.